Gary Mauser on The Failed Experiment

The Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada, Australia, England & Wales, by Gary Mauser, professor at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

This study examines crime trends in Commonwealth countries that have recently introduced firearm regulations: i.e., England, Australia, and Canada. The widely ignored key to evaluating firearm regulations is to examine trends in total violent crime, not just firearms crime. The U.S. provides a valuable point of comparison for assessing crime rates because its criminal justice system differs so drastically from those in Europe and the Commonwealth. Perhaps the most striking difference is that qualified citizens in the U.S. can carry concealed handguns for self-defense. The upshot is that violent crime rates, and homicide rates in particular, have been falling in the U.S. The drop in the American crime rate is even more impressive when compared with the rest of the world.